Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Sunak said the government would “invest every penny” of the £36bn saving in “hundreds of new transport projects in “the north, the Midlands and across the country”.
He added that HS2 trains would still run to Manchester, providing a faster service and more capacity.
Sunak also said that the HS2 line to Euston would go ahead but responsibility had to be taken for failings on the site. HS2 Ltd is to lose responsibility for the site and a new Euston development organisation will take over.
Sunak’s announcement built on the theme of change running through his speech.
“To create change and drive growth we have to get our infrastructure right,” he said.
HS2, he said, was “the ultimate example” of the “old consensus” that transport infrastructure should connect conurbations, connect to London, and connect north to south, rather than east to west.
“The economic case [for HS2] weakened post-Covid; the facts have changed and the right thing to do is change direction,” he said.
Under a new banner of “Network North, Sunak said the savings from HS2 would include investment in a better rail connection between Manchester and Liverpool, expanding the West Midlands metro, upgrading motorways and A roads, resurfacing roads, and improving links between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Sunak said in cancelling the Manchester leg of HS2 he might be criticised for a lack of ambition, “but there’s nothing ambitious about pouring money into the wrong project”, he said.
